1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a fluorochemical composition for imparting antisoiling protection and lubricity to textile fibers. More particularly, this invention relates to a finish composition which provides the fibers with antisoil protection and frictional characteristics, which is durable to washing and dyeing, and which is stable to the high shear environment of a finish application system.
2. Description of Related Art
The treatment of fibers and textiles with compositions containing fluorochemicals in order to make the fiber or textile both oil and water repellent as well as soil resistant has been known for some time. Illustrative of prior art patents describing such treatments are: U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,134,839, 4,192,754, 4,566,981, 4,695,497, 4,416,787, 3,923,715, 4,029,585 and 4,668,406.
The fluorochemicals are generally applied either as a topical treatment to the completed textile fabric or carpet or as a finish on the textile fiber itself, i.e. to a continuous filament yarn during its manufacture. Both forms of application suffer from certain disadvantages. Topical treatments tend to concentrate the fluorochemical on the surface of the textile fabric or carpet such that the fluorochemical may not penetrate to the interior of a heavy fabric or to the base of a carpet. Furthermore, it is often difficult to topically apply fluorochemicals evenly across a textile fabric or carpet and the result is that streaking may occur.
The application of fluorochemicals as finishes to textile fibers such as continuous filament yarns tends to be more expensive than topical treatment. The reason is that the finishes can hydrolyze or otherwise degrade, wash off or burn off during subsequent textile processing, e.g. during twisting, heat setting, carding, spinning, weaving, scouring or dyeing steps. Processing steps that involve elevated temperatures are especially troublesome. In any event, more fluorochemical must normally be applied to the fiber in order to achieve the same level on the final product than would be the case if a topical application was being made to a fabric.
Since fluorochemicals alone do not usually provide textile fibers with the necessary friction characteristics for the customary textile processing steps, they must be mixed with other lubricants when applied as a finish. Mixtures based on fluorochemicals and lubricants tend to be relatively unstable. Often they will separate, change in appearance or in viscosity while merely sitting in storage tanks or while being pumped under shear through a finish application system. While surfactants may improve stability somewhat, many fluorochemicals require expensive fluorine-based surfactants in order to achieve a sufficiently stable finish. These surfactants largely wash off during textile processing and do not contribute to the total fluorine level on the textile product.
An object of this invention is, therefore, an aqueous water-based fluorochemical composition for imparting antisoiling protection along with the necessary frictional characteristics to textile fibers and which is stable to the high shear environment of a fiber finish application system. Still another object is the provision of such a composition without the use of expensive fluorine-based surfactants. A further object is such a composition which is also durable to washing and dyeing in order to perform effectively in the ultimate finished textile article.